Fantasy

22 January 2019

2019 Aussie Bloggers CanCon Catch-up this coming weekend - now in its fourth iteration!If you run a wargaming blog then come along and say g'day, meet old friends and new, tell us what you've bought and lament your dice rolls.Sunday 27th January 201911:30amCoorong Pavilion (Top Hall) by the Bolt Action tournamentSee you there!

16 January 2019

My second submission this week was a grab bag of DAK specialist and support vehicles that I have enjoyed researching and collecting. I am building options for force lists and these help me both in the early years in the desert as well as and expanding into Tunisia and the Operation Torch era.SdKfz 265 Panzerbefehlswagen - modified from a Pz I Ausf A, this was a Command Tank variant with dedicated radio transmission equipment and operator. Here it is accompanied by a SdKfz 250 Halftrack, for use as the Luftwaffe Air Liaison Officer to control Air support (this has a tabletop control function in Battlegroup rules)

SdKfz 254 - Produced as an artillery tractor by the Austrian Army between the Wars and prior to Anschluss, it has a unique and adjustable system of tracks and wheels. The Wehrmacht used it as a Forward Observer vehicle. Its such a cool and distinctive vehicle that I had to have one. This Battlefront model has the options to model with the wheels either engaged or retracted (I have done the latter for resilience)

SdKfz 250/10 - A classic 250 Halftrack, fitted with a 37mm AT gun and frequently utilised as the Recon Platoon Commander's vehicle. In the 41-42 period in the Desert, the 37mm gun is very useful against an array of light armour and Armoured Cars.

Schwimmwagens - who doesn't love the mighty Schwimmwagen? My dream car is not a Ferrari, Porsche or Audi, its a Schwimmwagen! No, the irony of fielding amphibious vehicles in the Sahara Desert is not lost on me. I promise that if there is an oasis on the table, they will always try to schwimm across it, regardless of the tactical value of such a move. Unless I'm playing Dux of course.

Lorraine Schleppers - converted from captured French Lorraine 37L tanks, this motorised 150mm Artillery gun platform provided highly mobile fire support in the desert in support of the fluid nature of combat in North Afrika.

Marder III (SdKfz 139) - Classic early-mid war German Tank Destroyer made by fusing a Pz38t body with a captured Russian 76mm AT gun. It is accompanied here by a captured British Truck to act as its ammo hauler across the desert.

StuG III Ausf D - Who doesn't love a StuG? I needed one, though only a very small number served in Afrika, the rest being sunk in their transports en route. Due to their later arrival in theatre, I have presented it as newer and less weatherbeaten #stuglife

SdKfz 11 - Medium halftrack prime mover which saw widespread use throughout the war with over 9000 produced and its chassis was used as the basis for the SdKfz 251 Halftrack. I will be using these to move towed guns which are on the painting desk

13 January 2019

After the very positive comments about my Romanised Orcs and Goblin Auxiliaries submission a few weeks ago, I decided to advance the timetable for this army and produce two new units.

First up is the mainstay of the Army - the Orc Legionaries, deployed here in a double line wall of spears type of formation. I have done them on two bases so I can denote when the formation to gets to half strength (which halves your attack dice in Dragon Rampant). Figs are Oathmark Goblins fitted with Warlord Roman Shields

Second is a Goblin Sagittarii unit to support the main Orc foot troops. To be honest I haven't found Bow units to be very effective in Dragon Rampant but this is how Roman Legio were built so I am following suit. Figs are GW LOTR Moria Goblins.

In total that is 24 x 28mm figures ready and arrayed for battle Prefect!

08 January 2019

A couple of Painting Challenge entries this week, lead by my Kradschutzen Platoon entry for the first of this year's Bonus Round, themed for Reconnaissance.

The Motorcycle borne troops of the German Army were critical to the effective implementation of Blitzkrieg doctrine - searching out the enemy, seizing opportunities and using their mobility to conduct wide flanking manoeuvres. They are the essence of a force purpose built for this Reconnaissance Bonus round.

In the desert they came into their own, so naturally I need some in my 15mm DAK force for use with Battlegroup Tobruk and Torch!

While I am really happy with how this force came out, I had a real love-hate relationship with these follows from assembly onwards, including the myriad of wonderful detail that I felt obligated to give due attention. Glad I persisted, as these will give me a great flanking force with infantry to seize objectives and with some punch to keep away those pesky Armoured Cars and Bren Gun Carriers of Dux's 8th Army.
Overall that is 12 motorcycles, 11 sidecars, 2 tow vehicles, 2 crewed guns, and 42 figs, all in 15mm and posted here:http://analogue-hobbies-theme-rounds.blogspot.com/2019/01/reconnaissance-from-paulog-dak.html

Separately, for my routine weekly entry I continued my theme of distracting side projects with some Dark Age buildings I have been meaning to get to for a few years. I have a large village worth now and should probably stop, but I do love building them so I wont...

They are lovely resin casts by Gripping Beast, sold as Large and Medium sized Wattle and Daub Buildings, but the cute elevated storage building seems to be no longer available. All were given to me by Slowpainter John, painted up in multiple washes and dry-brushes in various acrylics.

03 January 2019

I'm working through my main AHPC project (15mm DAK) but must admit to being challenged by the shift in scale and I'm still trying to paint them like they are 28mm figs - thus I'm not progressing as hoped. Time for a quick and dirty, morale boosting side project!

(Dux: I promise that all shields in this unit were hand painted)

This is a small Goblin scout unit intended for Dragon Rampant. They are older LOTR Moria Goblins with Oathmark Shields swapped in. I've based them in an experimental 3-2-1 formation for dioramic effects and to reduce figure movement, while still allowing the exact number of casualties to be removed.

These will join my longer term "Romanised Orcs" project which is a bit of fun and may see some other units during the challenge. Orci Invicti!

Goblin Auxiliaries alongside the Orc Legionaries I painted prior to the Challenge

01 January 2019

First of all - Happy New Year to all the hobbyists out there in the blogosphere!

Midnight on Sydney Harbour, as viewed from the backyard of the Man Cave

Which also means its time for my annual, self indulgent recap of my 2018 Hobby Year.

Overall it was fun but curtailed, my returning to sea seeing me away and offline for multiple extended periods. Painting was down, games were down, blog posts were down to barely 30 for the year - but what Hobby I did, I quite thoroughly enjoyed.

My AHPC 8 tally

I really enjoyed participating in AHPC VIII, meeting my stretched goal and gaining two RU position in the Bonus Rounds. Always a great event backed up by a wonderful online community.

The favourite entry of AHPC 8: Freikorps Armoured Car

Games wise, Battlegroup continued to be a favourite, with Dux and I playing the Barbarossa Campaign followed by a number of really enjoyable Battlegroup Tobruk games with Slowpainter John.

Dux takes in the lie of the land as his British Armour advances against my DAK recon force in Nord Afrika

I also discovered Frostgrave this year, thanks to Dave of the Left Handed Panzerfaust - a fun, quick game which really suited my schedule. Lots of fun

My Orc warband for Frostgrave

At the club we also played a number of WW1 games as our homage to the Centenary of Remembrance

Some other stuff I painted this year:

Dwarf Command Group for the Lad

Orc riders I painted for Slowpainter John

Celtic Roundhouse I really enjoyed building

The start of my Romanised Orc army

I did get to one convention this year: MOAB. Me and the lad caught up with Comrade James and had a great game of Gaslands - riotous fun!

The Lad betrays his godfather on the race track - probably my fav game of the year

I anticipate 2019 will be similar - lots of absences and dalliances with a range of gaming projects, though I do hope to get to CANCON at the end of this month. I'll just take it as it comes, surrender to the new shiny, and enjoy the great company along the way.

I am a long time fan of Captain No-one and have been intrigued at the different ways he has been portrayed over the years. In this very enjoyable game his technological marvel has been given a artistic makeover and I wanted to give it due tip 'o the hat.

I eschewed the traditional metallic and iron grey and instead adopted the serene underwater hues that this more organic looking Nautilus would acquire in her natural element beneath the waves...

VPG's artwork for Nemo's War

My Nautilus is also my opening salvo in the Naval themed side duel, "Engage the Enemy More Closely!" So I am off the mark - only 998 more points to go!

25 December 2018

17 December 2018

Its been a busy run up to Christmas and the end of the year. After a number of deployments and periods at sea, I am looking forward to a good few weeks off at home with family and hobby.

Most of the latter right now is about preparing for AHPC IX - particularly the mass (for me) of 15mm DAK Infantry that will soon accompany my Panzers for games of Battlegroup Tobruk and Torch. In the meantime, I have also been clearing the decks of some unfinished projects

I enjoyed completing this Dwarf Command Stand, comprised of old Grenadier models that I picked up at the MOAB Bring and Buy a few months ago. They really clicked together and I wanted to build them into a dynamic looking base. I quite enjoyed this project, which is destined for the Lad's Dwarf army.

BTW The F style rune is the one Gandalf carves into Bilbo's door, to lead Thorin's Company there in The Hobbit

I must admit that I was so over prepping models that I just had to paint something else - mea culpa!
Also from the MOAB Bring and Buy stand, this Chaos Dwarf Hero will join my evil Army, and mercilessly seek out the Dwarves of the above Command stand in battles to come!